Qulayat Airport: Dealer Project and Administrative and Political Obstacles

“Call of the homeland” wrote:
Despite the parliamentary consensus and official studies that confirm the ability of Qulayat Airport to accommodate millions of passengers annually, and with the availability of the executive will from the government and initial international support, the “Party of God” and the “Amal” movement insist on disrupting the project, under the pretexts of “sovereign considerations” and “security concerns”, in an open attempt to maintain the monopoly of air and sovereign decision at Beirut International Airport, and transfer all all Strategic attachment to an internal and external negotiation sheet.

Sources affiliated with this team explained their position as “legal problems, sovereign and security concerns, in addition to the fear that the airport operation will lead to an imbalance in internal balances or its use by external parties.”
However, parliamentary sources consider that “the rejection of the duo is not related to legal or technical obstacles, but rather a political decision aimed at preserving the exclusive Beirut International Airport within the scope of a certain influence, and preventing the birth of any reserve facility that changes in the equations of power and sovereignty.”
In parallel technical preparations, the project faces logistical challenges that require simultaneous treatments. Qulayat airport needs to develop the road network leading to it, especially the coastal road through Tripoli, which requires additional investments. As for Hammam Airport, despite its readiness, it lacks so far to an integrated civil structure to accommodate a wide commercial movement, but it is considered less expensive and more inserted within effective partnership projects.
The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Fayez Rasamani, told “Al -Watan Call” that the ministerial statement of his government included a clear commitment to re -launching a project to rehabilitate and operate the Qaliaat airport, and pointed out that he started from the first day to receive his duties in the ministry work on the executive path of this project, in coordination with the relevant authorities, to prepare the directive plan and study the required feasibility in preparation for the re -operation of the facility.
Rassamni explained that the “Dar Al -Handasa” company presented these studies as a free dah, and includes: the directive plan, the feasibility study, and the project’s conditions book, and it was officially approved by the Council of Ministers. He pointed out that the Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, was informed in detail about the overall progress and the following steps required.
With regard to the legal framework of the project, the Minister of Works revealed that he submitted a proposal for a law for this file and sent it to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, to be referred to the Legislative and Consulting Authority, with the aim of enabling the ministry to obligate the project according to the BOT or DBOT format. However, the Council of Ministers decided that the amendment of the Public and Private Partnership Law (PPP) to make it more attractive to investors is a better option than the BOT format, and this amendment was approved within the Council of Ministers and was referred to the House of Representatives, pending its approval.
He concluded by two painters, stressing that the basic goal of the Ministry is to reach the obligation of this project before the end of the current government’s mandate in June 2026, whether through the BOT format or PPP. In the event that the partnership is approved, it is not possible to determine a clear timetable at the present time, but in the event of a BOT form, the ministry is expected to sign the contract according to the mechanism prepared in advance at the beginning of the next March or April.
In turn, the Minister of Economy Amer Al -Bassat said that “the government’s commitment to the issue of Qulayat airport is real and we intend to start field work as soon as possible, and it is one of our priorities.
It is studied accurately from the relevant ministries .. The focus is currently on creating the best legal mechanism for implementing the project and there is an obligation to reach a decision in this regard soon. At the same time, we are doing engineering studies and economic feasibility for the airport, and we are studying the possibility of implementing the project in partnership with the private sector.
The project has widespread support from basic parliamentary blocs, most notably the “National Moderation” bloc, deputies “renewed”, the “Lebanese Forces” party, and the “Kataeb” party, which sees the project a strategic step to achieve balanced development and move the economic cycle in the disadvantaged areas.

Related topics